WASHINGTON (July 15, 2021) – The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) is thrilled to announce that Krysta Harden, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, is joining FFAR’s board of directors.
Harden was named president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council in February, becoming the first female chief executive to lead USDEC since the nonprofit organization’s founding by Dairy Management Inc. in 1995.
Prior to her promotion, Harden served a dual role as USDEC’s chief operating officer while also holding the position of executive vice-president of global environmental strategy for DMI, which oversees USDEC and manages the national dairy checkoff for 34,000 dairy farmers.
On sustainability issues, Harden sees the big picture.
Harden has worked on sustainability issues on behalf of farmers. Before joining DMI, Harden focused on sustainability issues as a vice president for two large companies, spending three years at Corteva Agriscience and another three years at DuPont. She also served as chief sustainability officer with Corteva and DuPont.
Harden also spent seven years working with Vilsack at USDA, nearly three of those years as deputy secretary. She served as Vilsack’s USDA chief of staff and assistant secretary for Congressional relations. At USDA, Harden helped shape agriculture policy and led the implementation of the 2014 Farm Bill, among other accomplishments.
Throughout her career in agriculture, Harden has focused on expanding opportunities for women, young people, immigrants, socially disadvantaged producers, returning veterans and retirees.
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Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) builds public-private partnerships to fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase public agriculture research investments, fill knowledge gaps and complement USDA’s research agenda. FFAR’s model matches federal funding from Congress with private funding, delivering a powerful return on taxpayer investment. Through collaboration and partnerships, FFAR advances actionable science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment.
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